Light Me Up
by enchanted-nova
Summary: Sakura Haruno is the smartest and prettiest girl at Konoha Academy, she organized and down to earth, but she's in for a rude awakening when Naruto Uzumaki makes his appearance in her life. He plans on ruffling up those perfectly groomed feathers of her's, until it drives her crazy. Warning: AU. High School Fic.
1. New Kid

**New Kid**

He stood at the front gates of the school, watching the clusters of students funneling through the walkways and heading into the building that circled the courtyard. There were benches around the edge of the courtyard along with some picnic tables. Students surrounded them as they talked with each other before the bell rang. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the stone pillar of the gates. This was the last place he wanted to be another new school, never seemed to end. This was the fourth high school he's been too since his freshmen year and now he was only a junior. Running his fingers through his hair, Naruto Uzumaki pushed away from the stone pillar only to bump into someone.

"Sorry," Naruto said as he looked to the person he'd bumped into. His blue eyes widened in surprise when he saw a head of bubblegum pink hair. _There's no way that's natural, _Naruto thought as he gave her a strange look. He didn't think that a prestigious school like Konoha Academy would allow such outrageous colored hair. His last school sure didn't even if it was one simple streak.

"No it's my fault," the girl replied, looking up at him. Her eyes were the loveliest shade of jade, it actually complimented her pink hair. "See ya later." She smiled at him and continued walking on her way. He watched her walk across the courtyard over to a table with a large group of people.

_Interesting girl, _Naruto thought as he continued to watch her, but that thought change when he saw her kiss one of those tall, dark, and handsome types. Rolling his eyes, Naruto started walking towards the administration building to go see about his schedule and locker and everything else he had to do. Something told him that nothing would be any different from all the other schools he'd been to. It'd be popularity contest, the jocks, the geeks, the nerds, the populars, and the normal people. Naruto got the to the glass doors and grasped the metal handles, pulling them open. As he walked into the building, he found a trophy case and pictures of the past graduating classes along with faculty and staff photos.

"Naruto?" a feminine voice came from ahead of him. Ripping his eyes from the photos on the wall, Naruto looked at a blonde woman in a pencil black skirt that stopped just above her knee and a white blouse that exposed a little more cleavage than he wanted to see on a woman her age.

"Old lady," Naruto smiled at her, earning a cold glare and a scowl.

"Strike one, two more and I'm kicking you out and sending you to military school," the blonde growled, narrowing her amber eyes. Naruto chuckled a bit, grasping the straps of his backpack. "I'm being gracious as it is, so keep your attitude in check." Her name was Tsunade and she was Naruto's god mother. She was really good friends with mother Kushina and they just recently moved back into town.

"Yes ma'am, so can I just have my schedule and be on my way?" Naruto asked with a smile, batting his lashes at the woman. She sighed and pointed her fingers at him and waved them so that he would follow her. Groaning, Naruto followed her into her office, praying it would be over quick so he could check out the school. He had a lot of ground to cover, he needed to figure out who was who, perfect place to skip, the perfect place to make-out, the perfect place to do everything.

"I'm going to be watching you like a hawk, do you hear me?" Tsunade asked as they entered her square office that had window viewing the courtyard full of students. "If you start any trouble-"

"Your faith in me is so reassuring, Granny," Naruto said as he plopped down in the chair before her oak desk. The woman sighed softly and turned around to a black filing cabinet. As she was digging through the drawer full of papers, Naruto glanced about the office. It was simple and plain and boring, much like how he viewed Tsunade. Except she was also incredibly strict, which was why Naruto liked giving her such a hard time. Then again he gave everyone a hard time just for the sake of amusement.

"Alright, I'll keep it simple stay out of trouble," Tsunade explained as she turned around and handed him his schedule along with some paperwork his mother would have to sign. "Don't corrupt my school." She let go of the papers as Naruto pulled them from her grasp and stood up from his seat.

"I wouldn't dream of it," he muttered as he walked out of the boring maroon colored office that was barely bigger than a cubicle. Heading out of the building, Naruto looked down at his schedule and groaned. "Of course my first class would be History." Rolling his blue eyes, Naruto ventured outside into the courtyard.

The bell rang moments later and all the students like trained animals started heading towards the classes. Naruto sighed and looked at the building and room number his first class was in. It was barely 8:30 and he was already in a bad mood, it was going to be a very long day at this new school. He could already tell that popularity was everything here, it was obvious by the gossiping pretty girls, macho walk of the jocks, and the apologetic head bows of the nerds and geeks that there was a definite food chain. The best part is he wouldn't fit in with any of them not that it mattered much, he didn't have much faith that his mom would give him the opportunity to stay in the same place long enough to make friends.

There were six buildings to Konoha Academy: The administration building, the arts and library building, the math and science building, the literature and history building, the gym, and the cafeteria. Naruto found the literature and history building rather easily and walked in. Unfortunately he had the pleasure of being on the third floor, which was the top floor. Sighing, Naruto started his way up the stairs dodging the cliques along the way. It was so very noisy and Naruto could already tell it wasn't going to get any quieter.

Fortunately it was only the second week of school, so Naruto hadn't really missed much of anything. When he arrived at the third floor, Naruto walked down the hallway to room number 325. His teacher was name was A. Sarutobi and that was about all he knew. The class room door was open, so Naruto walked right on in and looked at the classroom full of students. He raised a brow as he saw a pretty blonde sitting on top of a desk with her legs crossed and showing off a lot of leg. She was twirling her hair around her manicured fingers and was giggling like a love sick school girl.

Naruto looked at the poor sod that was dealing with her and tilted his head when he saw the same guy that pink haired girl from the courtyard had kissed. Shaking his head, Naruto decided to just mind his own business and take a seat in the back corner of the room. Lucky for him there was a seat all the way back there, so he quickly took a seat before someone claimed it as their own.

"Good morning class," a tall man with a dark beard and kind eyes walked into the room. He was olive skinned and seemed pretty relaxed, so Naruto wasn't worried about test and essays and all that other fun stuff. "Ino find your seat." Naruto's blue eyes looked over at the blonde who scooted off the desk and went to a desk three seats away from where she was sitting seconds ago.

Naruto sank back in his seat and looked out the window to the never ending blue sky. He could think of about fifty places he'd rather be than in school. Shaking it off, Naruto looked back up at the teacher and saw him writing something on the board.

"We also have a new student joining us today," Asuma said and Naruto sighed, he hated the whole new student introduction. He hated going up in front of the class and saying hi to everyone followed by telling them a little something about himself. Naruto was friendly, but he hated being put on the spot in front of a bunch of people he wouldn't even have the misfortune of getting to know. "Naruto Uzumaki, I believe it was, are you here?"

"Yeah, right here," Naruto answered, lifting his hand in the air. Everyone's eyes were upon him and he smiled weakly, waving to everyone.

"Well welcome to Konoha Academy," Asuma said once he finished writing down the schedule for the day. "Why don't you-"

"Tell you about myself?" Naruto interrupted and Asuma smiled, nodding his head. "There's nothing to say." He shrugged his shoulders and Asuma stared at him for a moment before nodding in acceptance and began conducting class.

_I give my mom five months before we're up and moving on again, _Naruto thought bitterly as he slouched in his chair.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Latest Naruto and Sakura story, what did you all think? Naruto is going to be different in this story, he's going to be a bit more of a wise-ass so be forewarned. Tell me what you think, I'll see you all in the next chapter!


	2. No One In Particular

**No One In Particular**

Just as Naruto assumed History class was a complete snooze fest and his math class after that wasn't much better. His third class was chemistry and he was really think Tsunade had purposefully put all his hard and boring class in the beginning of the day. He walked into the class room and looked around the work stations. These science classes were much fancier than the other schools he'd been too. They had beakers and measuring apparatuses at each table along with sinks. By the front entrance of the class room the wall had hooks on the wall that contained white lab coats and a white metal box containing those uncomfortable and ugly safety goggles that left weird lines on people's faces.

He went over to a table that was on the far side of the class next to the window and took a seat. Dropping his backpack onto the table, Naruto glanced at the other few students in the room. One boy that was sitting at the very front table closest to the teachers desk had a bowl haircut and bushy eyebrows. Sitting next to him was a boy that seemed to have the munchies considering he had two bags of potato chips beside him and was working on a third. Shaking his head, Naruto turned around and looked out the window. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be able to take going to classes.

After a few more minutes went by the classroom suddenly filled up. He turned back around and furrowed his brows upon seeing the pink haired girl from earlier walk in. What was even more surprising is she was coming over to the table he was at. When she saw him sitting at her table, she stopped for a moment and tilted her head. Her eyes were so green and her skin was porcelain like not a single flaw. The only outrageous thing about her was her unnaturally bubblegum pink hair. So many jokes were forming in Naruto's mind, but she seemed like a decent girl, so he decided to keep those jokes to himself.

"You're new right?" she asked as she took the seat across from him, laying her purse and notebook down on the black surface of the table.

"Actually I'm quite old," Naruto chatted and the girl scoffed rolling her eyes. He could tell that she would be fun to mess with already. "That can't be natural." He pointed at her head of pink hair and she furrowed her brows, which were also pink.

"Excuse me?" she asked and Naruto chuckled. "I'm Sakura Haruno, and you are?"

"Fitting name for someone with unnatural pink hair," Naruto commented and the girl narrowed her eyes at him. "It's a compliment." He smiled at her and she shook her head.

"Right, thanks. So your name?" she asked him again and he shrugged his shoulders, making her look at him in confusion. She was going to say something to him, but the teacher walked into the class and told everyone to be quiet. Zipping her lips, Sakura turned her attention to Ms. Mitarashi.

"Who's the new student?" the woman with the dusty brown eyes and wild hair asked. Her eyes landed on Naruto and she pointed at him when she didn't recognize him from before. "You're the new kid?"

"Yes," he replied with a nod.

"Do you want to introduce yourself?" she asked.

"Not really," Naruto stated with a shake of his head and the woman smirked. Giving him a thumbs up she quickly went to the board and began telling students to open their books. The pinkette at the table with Naruto was staring at him curiously. "It's rude to stare you know." He glanced up at her and she turned away from him, very intrigued by his mysterious attitude. It was also annoying though that he wouldn't just tell her his name, it was the polite thing to do after all.

"Tell me your name and I will stop," Sakura said to him with a smirk, thinking she was so clever.

"Now we both know you'll still stare," Naruto whispered to her as Ms. Mitarashi started lecturing over chapter three in the book. "Besides maybe I want you to stare." He winked at her and Sakura furrowed her brows.

"You're weird," Sakura stated simply and went back to her notebook, pulling out a pen to take some notes. She started writing something down and Naruto licked his lips, shaking his head as he continued to listen to Ms. Mitarashi drone on about chemical bonds and such. "So why not tell me your name?"

"Why do you want it so badly?" Naruto inquired, not looking at her as he doodled in his notebook. Sakura watched him curiously for a moment, he had a point there it's not like his name really mattered, besides she could find out if she really wanted too.

"Well your at my table and will more than likely be a lab partner, it only makes sense to know each other's names. Besides you already know mine," Sakura explained with a shrug of her slender shoulders and Naruto nodded his head with pursed lips.

"I never asked for your name," Naruto pointed out and the pinkette sighed, obviously getting frustrated with him. It caused him to chuckle, he could tell she was one of those girls who was very down to earth and did what she was told, got good grades, the girl next door type, but she was probably known by everyone because of her bright pink hair and alluring green eyes.

"Seriously?" she asked, completely off-put by his lack of manners.

"Yeah, seriously I didn't ask for it. You just kind of told me your name," Naruto teased and Sakura waved him off, scowling in annoyance. He chuckled at her mannerisms and went back to doodling while she jotted down some notes in her notebook. Maybe he was going a little overboard about it, after all she only wanted to know his name. "Sorry, I'm being rude."

"Just a tad," Sakura retorted with an eye roll, never giving him a sideways glance. He smirked at her and rubbed the back of his neck, leaning back in his seat lazily. "So are you going to tell me your name now?" she inquired, glancing over at him for a moment.

"I'm no one in particular," Naruto replied and the girl let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head. Ms. Mitarashi had given the students some questions to answer on the board and sat down at her desk giving them ten minutes to work on the questions.

"That's cute," Sakura muttered and Naruto laughed. "So, no one in particular, where did you transfer from?"

"Oh here and there," Naruto replied, which was the truth he had hardly lived in one place for longer than six months the past three years. Sakura didn't seem very amused by his answer, so he decided to add, "I'm serious, I haven't lived in one place for longer than six months in the past three years." She looked at him and gave him a small frown. He shrugged his shoulders and looked up at the board to read the questions not that he really cared to answer them.

"That's terrible, I'm sorry," Sakura said softly and Naruto nodded his head. "Military family?" she asked him.

"No," Naruto said simply and Sakura stared at him like she was expecting more. "What?" he asked and she stifled a laugh, she felt like he had zero social skills.

"Why have you moved around so much?" Sakura asked, genuinely curious about his personal life.

"My mom likes fresh starts," Naruto answered with a shrug. "So in about six months, you'll be needing a new lab partner."

"Maybe they will tell me their name," Sakura shot back and Naruto laughed, he had to admit she had a little feistiness to her. He had to admit he liked that most girls he got all flustered would just ignore him, but Sakura seemed different. Not that it would matter, cause he really did believe that his mom would be packing up and running away again just like always.

* * *

Monday was always Sakura's least favorite day of the week, because that meant it was another four days until her beloved weekend would return. It meant she had nothing to look forward to except homework, work, and practice. Really Saturday wasn't much of a day off for her anyways, she always had to work. Her parents told her she had to learn the value of a dollar because it would prepare her for the real world. While she appreciated their wisdom, sometimes she wished she could just do school and cheerleading.

At least Monday was finally over and she could hang out with her friends. They would all be hanging out in the courtyard until 3:30 when practice started. As she walked down the sidewalk she could already hear her friends from around the corner of the building. She chuckled at how loud and obnoxious they could get. When she came around the corner she could see her group sitting at a table under the shade of a plum tree.

"Hey everyone," Sakura greeted when she got to the table and put her stuff down. "What's going on?" she asked as she took a seat beside her best friend, Ino Yamanaka, a girl with long platinum blond hair and baby blue eyes.

"The girls and I were just talking about the new kid," Ino explained. "Did you meet him?" If there was one thing people should know about Ino Yamanaka is that she loved hot gossip. She knew about everything going on in the social lives of students around the school. The break-ups, the hook-ups, the scandals, Ino Yamanaka was there to give everyone the E! True Hollywood story about everyone.

"Blond, tall, kind of cute?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Kind of cute, he's super handsome," Tenten Ling, the sporty brunette senior, giggled with a blush on her cheeks. "When I saw him I was like, Neji who?" the girl chuckled. Neji Hyuga was Tenten's boyfriend and they were the 'it' couple around the school. They were both sports stars, the were both in the top of their class, and they were both popular. Everyone knew exactly who they were.

"Tenten," Hinata Hyuga, a pearl eyed girl with a quiet and shy demeanor, chided with a shake of her head. She was Neji's younger cousin and they were very close, seeing that the two of them grew up together.

"Oh come on, you saw him didn't you?" Tenten gushed and Sakura scrunched up her nose. Maybe it was the whole fact that she didn't know his name and that he was kind of rude that made her not care for him. "Those arms, did you not see the muscle that boy was packing?" the brunette clasped her hands together and had stars in her eyes while all the other girls looked at her in shock. Of course, they all knew that Tenten was a sucker for cute boys, especially when they were sporty like her.

"He was really quiet in my class," Ino said with a shrug.

"You have him too?" Sakura inquired and the blonde girl nodded, saying he was in her history class. "He wasn't quiet in my class, but he was kind of rude."

"Rude?" Hinata repeated with a raised brow. "He was nice in my class."

"He's in one of your classes too?" Tenten questioned and pouted a bit. Since she was a year older she didn't get to have a class with him. "You are all so lucky," Tenten sighed, flicking her bangs from her eyes.

"You have a boyfriend, Tenten, and he's really good looking too," Ino pointed out with a laugh. The brunette nodded and waved it off, saying she knew, but she could still look at the new guys that came into the high school. Neji and Tenten had been dating for almost a year and they were still going strong, so none of them were really that concerned. They remembered when she used to gush over Neji for an entire lunch period, it's just the girl Tenten was.

"Well if he's quiet in Ino's class, rude in mine, and nice in Hinata's, there is only one conclusion," Sakura began and everyone's eyes fell on her. "He's two faced, he's good looking and knows it so he takes advantage of it." The pinkette rolled her eyes and saw someone walk out into the courtyard. She smiled when she realized it was her boyfriend, Sasuke Uchiha, who she had only just started dating during the summer. Getting up from her seat, Sakura ran over to Sasuke and gave him a hug. He returned her hug and twirled her around, making her laugh and giggle.

"How was your day?" Sasuke asked as he let her go and they started walking back to the table of girls.

"It was good, we're just talking about the new student," Sakura said as they sat down. "What's his name anyways? He refused to tell me."

"I don't remember," Ino said, trying to think back to what Asuma had called him. The morning was such a long time ago though and she wasn't really paying that much attention to begin with. "Sasuke do you remember that new kid's name?"

"You mean that blond kid?" Sasuke asked and the girls all nodded. "Don't know, but I have him in my composition class too." Sasuke Uchiha was the most popular guy in his class, he was smart, rich, and handsome. Every girl had tried to win over his heart, but Sakura was the only one to succeed.

"Hey that's him," Hinata said when she saw him walking with Kiba Inuzuka and Shikamaru Nara. She pointed across the courtyard to the walkway that lead to the gymnasium and sure enough Shikamaru and Kiba where walking with the new mystery student. "Maybe they'll know his name."

"I'm going to call them over," Tenten said with a smile, wanting to see this new kid up close and personal rather than a passing glass during lunch. "Hey! Shikamaru, Kiba! Who's your friend?" Tenten shouted, waving her hand in the air to gain their attention.

The blond that was standing in between them said something to the two and quickly walked off down towards the parking lot and Tenten frowned. It was a bit weird that the kid just sauntered off rather than coming over to talk, she figured he'd want to make some new friends. Pursing her lips, Tenten shrugged it off and decided she'd just talk to him tomorrow at lunch.

"Hey why did he take off?" Ino asked as Shikamaru and Kiba approached both of them dressed in their gym gear. Shikamaru Nara was the laziest kid in the school, but he was a natural genius. He and Ino had been friends since they were in diapers since their parents were such good friends. Kiba Inuzuka was the wild and crazy animal lover, he was very competitive and never backed down from a challenge.

"He said he had somewhere to be and couldn't stay," Shikamaru replied with a shrug his dark hazel eyes staring back into Ino's. She snorted and waved the matter off, saying it was his loss if he didn't want to meet the coolest people in Konoha Academy. Shikamaru simply rolled his eyes and leaned on the table.

"What's his name?" Sakura asked the two boys.

"Oh, what is his name?" Shikamaru wondered aloud.

"He never said," Kiba recalled, as he remembered when the blond came into the gym he spoke quietly with Guy and his name was never mentioned to anyone. "He's pretty cool though." Kiba shrugged his shoulders, he didn't see any problems with the kid. "He's good at basketball," Kiba added in.

"That's weird, why won't he tell anyone his name?" Sakura grumbled, really annoyed by it all. They had all crossed paths with him today and not a single person knew his name. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked in the direction that the blond had vanished off too moments ago. "Well I'm going to find out tomorrow, cause he's my lab partner."

"Who cares? If he wants to be stuck up let him," Sasuke commented with a wave of his hand, but Sakura wouldn't let it go. She was not going to sit next to a guy and call him 'no one in particular' for the rest of the school year, even if he would move in six months.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you everyone for the feedback on the last chapter, happy to hear you all enjoyed it! Hopefully this chapter will have the same results, until next time!


	3. The Konoha Grill

**The Konoha Grill**

The Konoha Grill was the local hangout for most teenagers that lived in Konoha. It didn't matter if you were popular, a loner, or a nerd, everyone just went there. They served the best burgers in town and had the most arcade games out of any other place, plus they had darts and pool tables. It was a modern like place with contemporary flare, bright retro colors and decorations and the music always set the perfect relaxing atmosphere.

Naruto was sitting outside of the owners office and stared at the many pictures on the wall. The Konoha High School band and every girl and boy sports team was plastered up on the wall. Sinking back in his seat, Naruto slouched and wondered how much longer the owner was going to make him wait before finally coming out to see him. He had applied for a job when they first arrived on Saturday afternoon. Naruto knew his mother would never be able to handle all the bills on her own.

"Sasuke, stop!" Sakura's voice came and Naruto's ears perked up. She started giggling and he heard the sound of lips smacking together. Groaning softly, Naruto rubbed his face with his hands and glanced over at the server station at the other end of the hallway. "You're going to get in trouble," Sakura chided and Naruto rolled his eyes as he saw a flash of pink hair followed by someone with black hair, pushing her back into the server station.

_How disgusting, _Naruto thought with a scrunched up nose.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" the door of the office flung open and Naruto looked up at the man standing in the doorway. "How much experience do you have kid?" The man standing in the doorway was tall and had this mess of cobalt hair, his face was covered by a mask. Naruto blinked a few times and wondered what kind of person wore a mask in a restaurant like some sort of serial killer.

"How much experience does one need to bus tables?" Naruto asked with a furrowed brow. The job was pretty self explanatory, clean tables and sweep the floors. They were basically over-glorified janitors.

"Well that won't be your only job, I need you to be able to multitask," the man explained, his dark eyes staring down at Naruto. Nodding his head, Naruto stood up and licked his lips, glancing down at the server station.

"How about you let me work tonight and you can see how much experience I have," Naruto tried and the man eyed him curiously. The blond was surly and obviously had a mouth on him, very bold. "By the way your server is messing with a girl over there," Naruto whispered, jutting his finger in the direction of the server station.

"I'm Kakashi Hatake, your new boss," Kakashi said, holding his hand out to Naruto. Smirking, the blond laughed and took the man's hand giving it a firm shake. "Here's your shirt, aprons are in the kitchen. You do good tonight and consider yourself having a permanent job here." Clapping Naruto on the back, Kakashi pressed a folded red t-shirt into Naruto's chest and walked into the dining area of the Konoha Grill.

Unfolding the shirt, Naruto looked at it. The shirt was dark red with the words Konoha Grill printed in small white letters and on the back of the shirt was the emblem of the grill, which was a Leaf with the words Konoha Grill curved around it. Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto pulled off the shirt he was currently wearing and decided to slip on his work shirt.

"Oh gosh, sorry!" Sakura yelped when she bumped into him. She stumbled back and gasped when she saw him standing shirtless in front of her. Turning away with a small blush on her cheeks, Sakura shook her head. "Why are you changing in the middle of a hallway?" she snapped.

"Why are you fornicating with one of the waiter's at the server station?" Naruto shot back as he pulled the shirt over his body. Sakura looked back at him with widened eyes and Naruto started to cackle. "Might want to moan a little louder next time, I don't think the people up in the front heard you," he teased and Sakura's cheeks flushed red and anger boiled inside of her.

"You are unbelievable!" Sakura hissed, pointing an accusing finger at him and Naruto looked at her unamused by her anger. Shrugging the matter off, Naruto walked around her and went over to the sever station.

Naruto sniffed the air before grabbing a black rectangular bucket. "Smells like sex," he smirked and Sakura glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't pout like that your face might get stuck." He winked at her and walked away. Letting out a frustrated groan, Sakura walked to the bathroom to go freshen up.

Naruto looked around the crowded dining area, there were very few tables left unattended. High school students were in their groups, making a mess at the tables and being loud and obnoxious. Rolling his eyes, Naruto sighed and began to bus some tables left with plates of half-eaten food and glasses filled with melted ice. Putting the glasses into the bucket, Naruto heard some girls burst out into a fit of laughter. When he lifted his gaze he spotted the group and saw it was the same girls that were in the courtyard at school. They were all dressed in shorts and tank tops of different colors with their hair up in ponytails.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sakura Haruno came out from the bathroom and walked across the room. Naruto watched her for a moment a smirk on his face. He shook his head when she sat with the girls and they all started gossiping again, he didn't dare get close in fear of hearing something he didn't want to know.

"So you are the new guy?"

Naruto turned around and saw the boy that had been making out with Sakura. He was taller than he looked and a little more beefier than he appeared a few minutes ago. Going back to his work, Naruto put the plates into the bucket and noticed the boy still watching him.

"What's your name?" he asked, his dark eyes peering at Naruto.

"The polite thing to do would be to introduce yourself first," Naruto said, turning around to face the boy. "Figured having a girlfriend like yours that be obvious." Shrugging his shoulders, Naruto grabbed his bucket and headed off towards the kitchen, leaving the other boy confused.

"Hey was that the new kid from our school?" Kiba asked as he came walking up to Sasuke, who simply nodded. "So he's working here now."

"I guess so," Sasuke replied with a shrug before walking off to take care of a new table that had been seated in his section.

* * *

"You aren't going to apply?" Ino gasped, placing her hands on her hips as she and Sakura were sitting outside of the Konoha Grill in the patio section. The blonde looked disappointed and shook her head. "Why not?" Ino asked, her blue eyes boring into Sakura's green ones.

"I don't know, that's more your scene anyways," Sakura said with a wave of her hand. Ino frowned and rolled her eyes, saying it was something they have been planning to do together since they were in middle school. "I know that."

"The Miss Konoha Pageant is a scholarship," Ino pointed out and Sakura sighed softly. "Think about it, Sakura. Anyways, I have to go. See you tomorrow at school." Picking up her gym bag, Ino waved and headed towards the parking lot to her car. Once she was in her car and driving away, Sakura sputtered and stirred her straw around in her drink.

"So you're one of those," Naruto said from behind her and she jumped. He chuckled and apologized for startling her as he started cleaning up the table behind her. The pinkette shook her head and stared at the boy, she just couldn't seem to figure him out. He seemed to just like to tease her just to watch her get annoyed. At the same time though he was kind of funny, so she just accepted it. "I didn't figure you for the hair flip-y, high heel wearing type."

"Well you don't know anything about me," Sakura hissed and Naruto stared at her, blinking a few times. She was a feisty one that girl. "Don't be so quick to judge," she chided before taking a sip of her soda.

"Who said I was judging?" he questioned with a raised brow. "I was merely saying you don't look like one of those girls, but looks can be deceiving." He shrugged his shoulders and put his bucket down on the table. Sakura turned in her chair and looked at him.

"Yeah, okay, so want to tell me your name now?" she asked.

"No," Naruto answered with a shake of his head and Sakura let her head fall between her shoulders. She didn't get this guy, why was he so against telling her his name. The blond smirked at her and started grabbing the chairs and stacked them up against the grill wall.

"Why are you so against me knowing your name?" Sakura asked with a raised brow, crossing one leg over the other as she sat in her chair.

"I already told you, I'm no one in particular." Naruto lifted the chairs he had stacked and carried them over to the wall. Sakura watched him and looked at his arms. She couldn't deny that Tenten was right, he was packing some muscles.

"Well can you at least tell me what to call you then, because I'm not going to call you 'no one in particular' forever," Sakura huffed and Naruto laughed lightly. "I'm being serious."

"I know," Naruto replied as he grabbed the table and pulled it in as well. "Aside from being my lab partner, why else do you need to know my name?" He looked at her, placing his hands on his hips. Sakura let out a breath and rolled her eyes, waving it off. She didn't care enough to keep trying it had been a long day and she was simply waiting for Sasuke's shift to finish. Naruto nodded his head and continued putting up the rest of the tables and chairs, leaving only Sakura's.

Naruto was about to walk back inside, when Sakura said something. He stopped and looked back at her, asking what she had said. The pinkette raised her gaze to meet his and sighed softly, "I've never met someone as complicated as you."

"Is that a good or bad thing?" Naruto asked her.

"I'm still deciding," she smiled and Naruto nodded his head before going inside. Just as the door was shutting, Sasuke walked out and greeted her. Sakura smiled at him and got up from where she was sitting.

"Where you talking to him?" Sasuke asked, jutting his thumb in the direction that Naruto had gone. Sakura nodded her head and Sasuke scrunched up his nose. "He's a loser, just ignore him."

"That will be hard since he's my lab partner," Sakura told him as they started walking to the parking lot. "He's frustrating, but I don't think he's a bad guy." She shrugged her shoulders and Sasuke looked at her in disapproval.

"He seems like a delinquent," Sasuke commented.

Sasuke Uchiha was the rich popular boy of Konoha High School. His mother was a well known fashion designer and his father was the Chief of Police. His older brother was currently in law school and was once the superstar of the soccer and basketball teams. Sasuke was doing everything he could to get out of his brother's shadow, but sometimes it just didn't seem to work. Because his brother was such a prodigy, Sasuke also felt like he was overlooked and in some cases that was probably true. On occasion Sasuke acted out, but for the most part he was a stand up kid. He got good grades, did what he was told, and kept a low profile.

"Don't judge him, Sasuke, we don't even know him," Sakura told him and Sasuke rolled his eyes as they got into his car. "You never know maybe you two have more in common than you think."

"I seriously doubt it," Sasuke said as he shut his car door.

* * *

Naruto walked into the small duplex building he and his mother were now living in. It looked like she had got most of the unpacking done, which made the place seem a little bit bigger than he remembered. Dropping his backpack onto the couch, Naruto walked into the kitchen where he found his mother doing some dishes.

"Hey mom," Naruto greeted her with smile as he pulled a chair from under the table and plopped down into it.

"Hey sweetheart," she greeted with a smile, turning around and dabbing her hands dry on a dish cloth. She shut off the faucet and walked over to the table and took a seat. "So how was your first day at school and work?" she asked, flipping her red hair over her shoulder.

"Same old, same old," Naruto replied with a shrug and Kushina frowned. She knew that moving around all the time was hard on him. Honestly, Kushina hated doing this to him, he didn't really have any friends and he isolated himself. "Just different place now."

"Honey, I know that you're upset-"

"Mom," Naruto stopped her. "Don't worry about it, I know." He got up and walked out of the kitchen. He got over to the couch and plopped down on it. Pulling his backpack over to him, he reached into the pouch and pulled out his iPod.

"Sweetheart, I promise this is it," Kushina said with a soft smile. Naruto looked at her and grunted before plugging into his music and drifting off. He loved his mother, he really did, but he hated having to move from place to place. And as much as he really wanted to believe his mother was being sincere, he had heard it all before and just went along with it to humor her.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey there everyone, thanks for the comments on last chapter and I appreciate you all reading this story! If you haven't yet, check out my latest one-shot **Outta My Head **and my full length chapter story, **If You Told Me To**. Until next time everyone!


	4. What's In A Name?

**What's In A Name?**

Another boring day at school. Naruto was a firm believer that school was simply created so that kids would have something to do all day rather than running amuck throughout the city. He didn't particularly mind school all that much, sometimes it could be kind of cool, but most of the time it was just a bore. Of course, he probably would have felt a bit different if he had friends to enjoy it with. It was his second day at Konoha Academy and it was lunch time. Having no one to sit with at lunch wasn't exactly the funnest thing in the world. Fifty-minutes of sitting alone, watching people gossiping and screwing around with nothing better to do.

Having enough of the noisy cafeteria, Naruto decided to take a little stroll around the campus and find all the best hiding places. Leaving the table he was at, Naruto went out the double doors that lead out to the courtyard. The courtyard was littered with rambunctious teens as well, but it was much quieter outside since it could hold the mass numbers as the building could. Shaking his head, Naruto stuffed his hands into his pockets and made his way to the arts building on the other side of the campus.

The school itself was nicer than the other schools he went to. This one was spacious and clean, fancy, and had nice courtyards. His other schools had seemed more like prisons with four brick walls. It felt nice to be able to walk outside when passing between classes to get some sunshine. Just up ahead, Naruto could see the arts building and skipped up the staircase to the glass wall of doors. From the outside of the building he could see the many displays of art work and even some pictures from the photography club.

When he entered the building he looked at the various student arts works from pencil drawings to paintings to clay figurines. He walked around one of the display cases and smiled when he came open masquerade masks. There was obviously a lot of talent within the school, but he already knew that going in. Tsunade ran a tight ship around here and she expected the best from all of her students. Naruto went to look at the frame pictures on the wall, some images were from around the school while others were from places around Konoha.

He stopped at one image in particular, the last one on the wall before it went to a corner that exposed a hallway leading to the choir rooms. Tilting his head, Naruto walked up a little closer to the photo and smirked. He recognized that pink head of hair, it was his lab partner Sakura Haruno. It was an image of her dancing with a single spotlight on her. She was wearing a simple white gown that fell just past her knees and there was an intensity in her green eyes.

"OH!" a girl yelped as she bumped into Naruto's shoulder and dropped her books onto the floor. Naruto looked to her and then down at the books, kneeling down to pick them up. "Oh look, it's Mr. No one in particular," Sakura's voice grumbled as she straightened out her clothes.

Naruto chuckled grabbing her books and stood back up, handing them over to her. "Hello, Sakura."

"Stranger," Sakura replied curtly and Naruto smirked at her. "You weren't in chemistry today."

"No, I wasn't," Naruto stated with a shrug.

"Then where were you?" Sakura inquired.

"That's not any of your business," Naruto said and the pinkette rolled her eyes like she expected no less than a vague answer. "Anatomy and Latin, you must be very smart." Naruto tapped on the two books she was holding.

"Going to med school, I have to be," Sakura smiled and Naruto nodded his head, slightly impressed. "What about you?" she inquired with a raised brow.

"I'm not that smart," Naruto said with a smile.

"So there is nothing you want to be?" she pressed and Naruto pursed his lips and tapped his chin.

"Well now, I didn't say that," Naruto replied and looked at the picture on the wall. He pointed to it and looked back at Sakura, who glanced at the image and smiled weakly. "You dance?" he questioned.

"It's just a hobby," Sakura answered and Naruto nodded his head. "You know what's annoying?"

"What?"

"You are learning a lot of things about me, but I still know nothing about you," Sakura told him. Naruto stared at her for a few moments and crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's not entirely true," Naruto said and Sakura groaned. She really didn't have the patience to deal with him today. Coming to terms with the fact the boy in front of her was just a big question mark, Sakura took in a deep breath and was about to walk away. Naruto reached out for her and just as soon as he had touched her he let her go. She stared at him for a few moments before he let out a breath. "I'm still trying to figure out what I want, haven't exactly had the easiest time."

"What's your name?" Sakura asked for the thousandth time and Naruto started laughing. "Okay, fine whatever." Sakura shook her head and started walking away, having her fill of the blond boy for the day. Naruto watched her go and rubbed the back of his neck before running after her.

"Naruto Uzumaki," he said and Sakura stopped walking before she reached the door. Turning around, Sakura looked at him and he shrugged his shoulders. "That's my name." He smiled at her and Sakura nodded her head, smiling back.

"Nice name," Sakura replied as she walked out the door.

* * *

Naruto was wiping down tables and looked across the way at Sasuke Uchiha, texting away on his phone. The blond rolled his eyes and picked up the dirty plates on the table. Placing them into the black tub, Naruto made his way to the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, Naruto found Kakashi talking with one of the cooks. Putting the black tub into the huge silver industrial sink, Naruto started rinsing off the plates to put them in the wash.

"You're the first kid that's come in here to actually work," Kakashi said as he walked over to Naruto, who was still rinsing the plates. Glancing over his shoulder, Naruto smiled weakly and shrugged his shoulders. "Parents must have raised you right."

"Not really," Naruto replied coldly and Kakashi raised a brow at the kid. There was something about him, something familiar. Kakashi wasn't sure why, but the kid had a strong resemblance to an old friend of his.

"Well, in any case, I appreciate a kid willing to work," Kakashi said as he clapped Naruto on the shoulder.

"It's not that," Naruto said and Kakashi looked back at him before exiting the kitchen. When their eyes met, Naruto looked down into the sink of dirty, soapy water and glanced back up at Kakashi. "If I don't work we lose our home, if we lose our home, we leave again, and I don't want to keep moving." The silver haired man stared at Naruto, who loaded up a tray to put into the dishwasher.

"Kakashi got another customer complaint about Sasuke again, just fire the damn kid already," the assistant manager grumbled as he came into the kitchen. Naruto looked between the two of them for a moment and snickered. Leading the assistant manager away, Kakashi told Naruto to get back to work and made his way up to the front.

Just as Kakashi and the assistant manager, Kenta or whatever his name was, left the kitchen Sasuke came in through the second entrance. Naruto looked at the kid and just by working with him in two days, he already knew everything he needed to know. Sasuke was a kid who came from a well off family, not exactly the richest family, but one that definitely had a nice house and nice cars, they could probably afford to send him to college out of their own pocket. He wasn't really a bad kid either, he just thought he was the coolest thing to ever walk the planet. Probably came from all the swooning girls at school.

Naruto wasn't an idiot, Sasuke was the sports star at school, he was smart, had a nice car, and he had a pretty girlfriend. In a way, Naruto somewhat envied how easy Sasuke had it. He didn't have to worry about being evicted, he didn't have to worry about where his next meal would come from, and he most certainly didn't need to have a job. Yeah, Sasuke Uchiha was the golden child that Naruto wished he could be.

"Can I help you?" Sasuke asked when he caught Naruto staring at him.

"Nope," Naruto replied as he went back to doing his work.

Sasuke walked over to him and leaned against the dry storage door. Naruto could feel his dark eyes on him and was starting to get a bit annoyed. "You need to leave my girlfriend alone." Naruto furrowed his brows and turned around to look at Sasuke.

"What? Are you threatened by me? I hardly know your girlfriend," Naruto replied with a shrug as he went back to finishing up the load of dishes. He heard Sasuke walking up to him and felt him standing directly behind him. Naruto stared at the wall and sighed heavily, turning around to look at Sasuke. "What's your problem?" Naruto questioned, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Nothing, I just want you to stay away from my girlfriend," Sasuke said simply and Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. "If you do that, we won't have a problem."

"Yeah, I'd be afraid of me too," Naruto smirked and Sasuke tensed up, his fist clenching at his sides as though he was about to take a swing at Naruto. "Maybe you should trust her a little more." Turning back around, Naruto turned to grab the black tub out of the sink. When he grabbed it, he turned to Sasuke and brushed past him like it was nothing at all.

Sasuke watched the blond walk off and let out a breath. He could tell that Naruto was going to be a big problem.

* * *

"See you girls later," Sakura spoke as she and her friends went their separate ways. She looked across the street to the Konoha Grill and saw Naruto sweeping up the patio area. Instead of getting in her car and going home, Sakura decided she would go say hi to him. She had seen that Naruto still hadn't made any friends at school. Being the girl that she was, she was going to help him make friends. She knew that he said that his mom would probably make them leave again in a few months, but that didn't mean he didn't need friends.

When she got across the street, she said Naruto's name. He stopped sweeping and looked over at the pinkette. She smiled at him and gave a little wave, which he returned before continuing to sweep. Sakura watched him and could see that he seemed a little tense and annoyed. Tilting her head, Sakura walked a little closer and Naruto looked up at her.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, leaning against the broom handle.

"I was with my friends having some frozen yogurt," Sakura explained, pointing at the frozen yogurt shop across the street. "I saw you sweeping and thought I'd come say hi." She smiled at him and Naruto looked at the shop before pursing his lips and nodding his head. He went back to sweeping and kept his mouth shut. Sasuke was still inside and the last thing he needed was problems at work, he needed this job.

"Well I have to work," Naruto said and Sakura nodded her head slowly. "See ya later, Sakura." He gave her a weak smile and was about to head back inside.

"No jokes this time?" Sakura asked and Naruto stopped just before reaching for the door handle. He looked back at her and shook his head. Sakura raised a brow at him and found that hard to believe. Granted she only met him two days ago, but he had been all about the jokes for two days and now silent as the grave. "What's wrong?" Sakura questioned and Naruto sighed heavily.

"Your boyfriend is giving me crap and I don't need it, alright," Naruto said and walked inside the restaurant. Sakura remained where she was and blinked a few times. Against her better judgement, Sakura followed Naruto inside. "Seriously?" Naruto grumbled when the pinkette walked in.

"What did he say to you?" Sakura asked and Naruto rolled his eyes and started walking away. "Hey come on."

"Why do you care?" Naruto questioned as he turned to look at her. They were standing near the pool tables and thankfully it was thirty minutes until they closed so there were only a couple of people still inside.

"Because my boyfriend has no say in who I talk to," Sakura replied and Naruto stared at her for a moment. Shaking his head, Naruto started walking back to the kitchen and Sakura ran in front of him, blocking his way. "I'll talk to him."

"I don't need your help, but if you want to help me," Naruto paused for a moment and took a step closer to her, leaning towards her ear and whispered, "just stay away from me." He pulled back and turned on his heels heading towards the kitchen.

Sakura let out a breath and bit her lip, shaking her head.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, walking over to the pinkette.

"Just stopped by to grab a root beer float," Sakura lied with a smile as she opened her arms open to give Sasuke a hug. He smiled and kissed her temple, hugging her back. "Anyways, I have a test to study for, I'll see you at school tomorrow." She pulled away from him and started walking towards the door. Sasuke watched her go and waved when she left the building.


	5. It's Not Me, It's You

**It's Not Me, It's You**

Naruto didn't show up to class the next two days, nor did Sakura see him at school. She sighed softly as she walked into the front office. She had to make copies of a flyer for the school bake sale next weekend. They were raising money to buy costumes for the dance team. The Halloween Pep Rally was in three weeks and the girls wanted to dress up like zombies for their dance. They were hoping the bake sale would be enough for them to by some make-up and props. All the girls were going to be planning on what sweets they would be making after school.

When Sakura walked into the office, she went over to the copier and put the flyer in the tray. She heard people talking and looked around, but didn't see anyone. Her eyes fell onto the principal's office door which was ajar. Being the nosy girl she was Sakura moved a little closer to listen in. It sounded like Principal Tsunade was scolding a student and said student was just groaning and moaning about her lecture.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Naruto's voice came and Sakura's eyes widened. He hadn't been in chemistry again, so she just assumed he was skipping out again. "Can I go now?" Naruto grumbled and Sakura gasped, running back over to the copier before they caught her listening in on their conversation.

"Look, I know you are going through some rough patches, but you need to stop acting like a spoiled brat," Tsunade reprimanded as she opened the door and Naruto walked out of her office.

"Spoiled brat? Listen lady, I work, I go to school, and I'm trying to keep my mom from making the same mistakes. The last thing I am is spoiled," Naruto growled as he slung his bag onto his shoulder and walked out into the lobby area. He stopped when he saw Sakura standing at the copy machine. She glanced at him and smiled weakly before going back to making her copies.

"You missed two days," Tsunade scolded as she walked up, but fell silent when she noticed Sakura. "Oh Sakura."

"Hi, I'm almost done," Sakura said as she held up the flyers. "I can pick them up later." She was about to leave, but Naruto stopped her.

"No, you're fine. We're done here," Naruto huffed as he glanced at the older woman and stalked out of the office. Tsunade shook her head as Naruto left the office and looked back to Sakura, who didn't know what to say.

"He's a bit stressed, don't mind him," Tsunade told her, waving the matter off and Sakura laughed lightly. She didn't know much about Naruto, but the more she learned about him the more she realized how complicated he was. "Are those the flyers for the bake sale?" Tsunade asked, gesturing to the papers coming off the printer. Sakura nodded her head and handed one to the principal. She took one and read over it, nodding her head as she looked at the date which was Saturday, the time which was noon to five, and then the location which was in the school cafeteria.

"Are you going to come Principal Tsunade?" Sakura asked just as the printer made the last flyer.

"I'll be there," Tsunade smiled and Sakura nodded her head, gathering up the flyers. She was about to say one more thing when Shizune, the vice principal, walked into the room and said she saw Naruto leaving the school. "He what?" Tsunade growled in frustration, shaking her head in disappointment.

"What should we do?" Shizune asked curiously and saw Sakura standing there with a stack of flyers in her hands. The pinkette smiled weakly and excused herself, leaving the office to allow the women to have a private conversation.

"Just let him go, I have the perfect way for him to make it up," Tsunade replied and Sakura furrowed her brows wondering what her plan could possibly be.

* * *

Sakura and Ino were hanging up flyers after school. The girls had decided what everyone was going to be taking care of for the bake sale and Ino, being the big complainer that she was, wouldn't stop ranting about how she wanted to make the cupcakes. Unfortunately for her Hinata and one of the other girls were going to be making the cupcakes while Ino was going to be making sugar cookies. As the blonde continued to rant and rave about how unfair it was, even though they all drew the selections from a hat, Sakura smiled and nodded just to appease her friend.

Taping another sign onto the door, Sakura walked down the hall and taped a few more onto some people's lockers. Ino was over by the door and was watching something. The pinkette called to her friend saying she was getting hungry and wanted to get things done. Ino turned and told her to come back. Sighing, Sakura walked back over and told Ino they didn't have to to screw around cause they had to go to the grocery store and pick up some of the supplies they would need for the bake sale. When she got to the door Ino pointed across the way and there in the middle of the courtyard Naruto was talking with Tsunade. Actually it wasn't even talking it seemed more like they were arguing with one another.

"I bet he ends up getting expelled, he's got a mouth on him," Ino said as she leaned on the silver handle going across the door. Sakura glanced at Ino for a moment and frowned slightly when she saw Naruto trying to walk away, but Tsunade grabbed his arm. "He's got a serious attitude problem."

"I think he's under a lot of pressure," Sakura defended and Ino looked at her with a raised brow. "This is like the fifth high school he's been too, apparently his mom makes them move a lot. I think I'd be angry all the time too." The pinkette shrugged her shoulders and looked back to Naruto, who had his hands shoved in his pockets and was nodding stiffly.

"Why are you defending him? Do you like him or something? I mean he's cute and all, but he's obviously got issues," Ino chimed and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"I'm just saying I understand how not having friends can be difficult," Sakura explained simply and Ino stared at her for a moment before shrugging it off and walking on down the hallway to put flyers on all the classroom doors. The two in the courtyard finished talking and Naruto stood there for a little bit while Tsunade went back towards her office. Biting her lip, Sakura decided to go talk to him and see if he was okay. It was probably against her better judgement, but Sakura figured when he told her to leave him alone it was just because of Sasuke being a jerk.

Pushing the door open, Sakura started walking towards the courtyard and watched Naruto as he took a seat on a bench. He buried his hands in his face and groaned in frustration. Sakura stopped when she was a few steps away from him and cleared her throat. The blond boy slowly lifted his head and spotted Sakura, holding a few flyers in her hands. His blue eyes studied her for a moment before leaning back in his seat.

"Oh it's you," Naruto said as he propped his arms along the back of the bench. Sakura blinked a few times at his rudeness and scoffed a bit. "What do you want?" he inquired.

"You could be a little nicer," Sakura grumbled as she brushed her hair behind her ear. Naruto snickered a bit and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay then, I just came to see if everything was alright. You haven't come to class in two days and earlier you seemed a little stressed out and I saw you and Principal Tsunade arguing just a moment ago."

Naruto stared at Sakura for a few moments and blinked. "So?"

"Well, are you okay?" Sakura asked, suddenly wishing didn't even bother. It was obvious Naruto didn't care that she cared, so why should she.

"I'm hunky dory," Naruto replied with a shrug and forced smile. Sakura could tell he was trying to hide that he was frustrated and annoyed. It was understandable, having no one to vent to or go to for advice made things difficult. "Is that all you wanted?" he questioned and Sakura narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm just trying to help," Sakura scolded.

"I don't need your help, but thanks anyways," Naruto grumbled and Sakura huffed crossing her arms over her chest.

"You need a friend and I'm willing to be that friend," Sakura said to him, but Naruto only chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"Why in the world do you want to be my friend so badly? You are that pretty princess girl with friends, a boyfriend, and your popular, life is perfect for you. I don't want to be that dude in your life who is broken and needs fixing," Naruto growled at her and she stared at him in disbelief. She never intended on fixing anything, she was simply trying to be nice. "I told you at Konoha Grill, if you want to help me then just stay away." He grabbed his bag and stood up, slinging it onto his shoulder easily.

"What's your problem?" Sakura snapped at him just when he turned his back to her to walk away. He stopped mid step and shook his head as he turned on his heels and stared at her. His blue eyes pierced right into her green ones the sheer powerful intensity was riveting and made the air in her lungs freeze. No one had ever looked at her like that, the pure raw emotion just pouring like water.

"It's not me, it's you," Naruto told her simply and Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't have a problem."

"Well you obviously do being such a jerk to me," Sakura hissed coolly and Naruto stifled a laugh, shoving his hands into the pockets of his rustic leather jacket. "Everyone needs help sometimes or someone to talk too. You're new here, so I'm just being friendly. And don't worry about my boyfriend if that's what stopping you."

"Have you ever considered that maybe I don't want any friends?" Naruto inquired, taking a step closer to her. She looked down at the brick ground and shrugged her shoulders. Everyone needed friends right even those who were evil and vindictive. "Give me one good reason why we should be friends." He stared at her, waiting for her to say something.

She opened her mouth and quickly closed it. In truth, Sakura didn't really know a good reason for them to be friends. They had a class together, they were in the same grade, and he seemed like he could use a friend. That probably wouldn't be a good reason for him, but she let out a breath and replied, "I would want a friend when everything got hard to deal with."

"And what do you know about my life?" Naruto asked coldly and Sakura shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know much of anything, but someone our age shouldn't have to be this stressed out. You told me you've been to several different high schools, you don't have friends, you have to work, and I mean that can't be easy to deal with," Sakura explained softly, hoping he would let down his guard and give her a chance. "Look, it doesn't have to be me. But be friends with someone." Sakura stared at him, her green eyes studying him closely.

"You are a very strange girl," Naruto commented as he turned on his heels and began walking away. Sakura watched him go and waved the matter off, she didn't want to argue with him. "Oh and Sakura."

"Yes?" she asked as he turned around and looked at her.

"You really shouldn't care so much about someone like me," Naruto told her with a shrug.

Sakura blinked. "What does that even mean?"

"It's my indirect way of thanking you," Naruto replied with a wink and continued walking away, leaving Sakura in the courtyard very confused about what had just happened between them.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I am so sorry for the wait everyone, I got a new job and it's taking up a lot of my writing time and with several stories under my belt it's hard to update all of them frequently. But I am trying! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Also if anyone is interested I have a new story that is all about Team Seven and it's also an AU. It's called **Resonance** and I would really appreciate some feedback on it. Thank you all again for the support, until next time everyone!


	6. I'm a Vampire

**I'm a Vampire**

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto grumbled as he sat in Tsunade office Friday during his lunch. "I have to work!" the blond explained to the woman, but she shrugged her shoulders like it didn't matter. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Naruto shook his head and let his arms fall into his lap as he slouched in his chair. Tsunade scolded him for his temper tantrum, but Naruto could careless. He was not going to miss getting paid to work for free at the bake sale, there was just no way in hell he was going to do that.

"And it's not really working for free?" Tsunade said as she laced her red painted finger nails together and leaned forward on her desk.

"Am I getting paid at all?" Naruto asked with a raised brow.

"Why yes," Tsunade smiled at him and the blond gave her a questioning look. "In attendance for the last two days you skipped out on." Naruto's head fell between his shoulders and the woman laughed at her own joke. Rolling his blue eyes, Naruto got up from his seat and waved her off.

"It's not happening, old lady! We need the money," Naruto snorted as he walked out of the room and Tsunade smirked, punching in a number on her phone. She could pull a few strings and have Naruto selling cookies and cupcakes all day long in no time at all. He would probably get extremely irritated, but what were god-parents for?

"Hey Kakashi, it's Tsunade," the blonde said into the phone. "I needed to borrow Naruto for Saturday, could you please take him off the schedule?"

"I guess I could, but what do you need him for?" Kakashi asked in confusion. Tsunade was a good friend of his, in fact, Kakashi was once a student at Konoha Academy and he even worked there at the school for a couple of years. Teaching wasn't really his thing though, so he opened up The Konoha Grill.

"He needs to make up for some absences, I'm having him work at the bake sale this weekend," Tsunade explained to the man on the other end of the line.

"Oh I see, well then in that case I will take him off the schedule," Kakashi said, he always did believe that kids should be in school.

"I knew you would, thanks Kakashi," Tsunade said and the two said their goodbyes before hanging up. Turning her chair around, Tsunade looked out the window and saw Sakura Haruno and her friends heading straight for the cafeteria. Something told Tsunade that the President of the Junior class would be the perfect person to keep Naruto in line. Sakura was smart, popular, and really involved in school functions and activities. There was no better role model for Naruto other than her.

Pressing her lips together, Tsunade turned her chair back around and decided to give Kushina a little call to tell her that Naruto would be working at the bake sale on Saturday afternoon. Naruto would surely be pissed off and rebel, so Tsunade wanted to make sure her friend was ready to deal with his mood swings. Kushina had really turned things around in the past few years, sure she still liked to move around a lot, but she was more of a mother to Naruto now than ever before.

Years ago Kushina was a far cry from being mother material, but now she had really stepped up to the plate. She had her moments where she didn't know what to do and would call her crying, but those calls became less and less lately. To say the least, Naruto had eased up on her a bit too. He used to have quite the attitude towards her, but Kushina always understood that she deserved it. Running her fingers through her blond fringe, Tsunade sighed softly and remembered how much of a mess Kushina used to be. It was a good thing she got her act together otherwise Naruto would probably have been without family.

Dialing Kushina's number, Tsunade brought the phone up to her ear and listened to it ring a couple of times before the redhead answered cheerfully. "Kushina, it's Tsunade, I just wanted to give you a heads up that I figured a way for Naruto to make up those absences of his. He'll be at the bake sale on Saturday, so be prepared for the attitude."

"I'm just happy you're letting him make it up," Kushina said truthfully over the phone, sounding a bit disappointed in herself. "I'm the parent, I should be working and he should be in school."

"Don't worry, you have a job now and you're doing the best you can," Tsunade assured her in a comforting manner. "You've come a long way, Kushina, don't be so hard on yourself."

"I know, but I don't think I can ever make-up for everything I never did for him when he was growing up," Kushina whispered and Tsunade frowned, knowing the woman was probably on the verge of tears. "I wish Minato was here."

"I do too," Tsunade answered truthfully, Naruto needed his father in his life. Unfortunately that couldn't happen. The memories came flooding in both Kushina and Tsunade's minds. The accident happened when Naruto was nine years old, nearly eight years ago now. The car was wrapped around the telephone pole, glass had shattered all over the road, smoke rose from the engine of the mangled car, and the rain didn't let up even for a second that night. Closing her eyes, Tsunade tried to shake the images from her mind and slowly opened up her eyes a few moments later.

"I should get back to work, thanks for letting Naruto make up his absences," Kushina said.

"He's a good kid, a little rough around the edges, but we'll straighten him out," Tsunade assured her and Kushina chuckled lightly. The two said their goodbyes and Tsunade laid her phone back in the cradle. She smiled softly and let out a breath, Naruto was going to be so pissed when he found himself at that bake sale.

* * *

Naruto had his arms crossed over his chest and a bitter, angry glare on his face. His mother, Kakashi, and Tsunade had all ganged up on him this morning when he was trying to work. They forced him down here, telling him school was more important. For most kids and teenagers school probably was important, but Naruto needed to work or his mother and himself would be facing eviction or life without electricity or food. A roof over his head and food seemed to be much more important in his own opinion.

The bake sale was going to begin in half an hour and everyone was scurrying about, decorating their booths and stands. Shaking his head, Naruto didn't understand what the big deal was. They were selling baked home goods, people would buy it with or without the decorations. As he was standing by the entrance of the cafeteria, Naruto watched as the girl's dance team laid out trays of sweets and pastries. He couldn't deny his mouth was watering at the sugary smell.

The doors squeaked open behind him and he turned around, seeing Sakura Haruno with Principal Tsunade beside her. Naruto and Sakura hadn't really talked much since their little chat in the courtyard. They ignored each other in chemistry and when they passed each other in the hallways it was like they didn't even know each other. This time around though they would have to communicate with each other for the bake sale. Sakura had taken Naruto's advice and left him alone, not that she really wanted too.

"You two have fun, Naruto you have to stay here for everything, so don't even think about skipping out or you will be expelled," Tsunade threatened as she waved a manicured finger at the teen. He scrunched up his nose and looked over at the frilly decorated tables. It was going to be a very long day, he'd probably kill himself by the end of it all. "Sakura keep him in check, I'll come by again later." Tsunade waved to them and quietly left them.

"Come on," Sakura said, gesturing for Naruto to follow her. He watched as she went back out the doors and huffed, walking after her. "We just need to get some of the trays out of the car." She looked back at him and he nodded his head, following a step behind her.

"Your boyfriend isn't here," Naruto stated rather than questioned.

"He has to work until two, but he'll come after," Sakura said.

"Or earlier," Naruto commented and the pinkette stopped to look at him. He stopped as well and looked back at her with a weak smile. "Oh come on, that guy is horrible at his job. Kakashi is so close to firing him, he's got rich kid problems," Naruto stated and Sakura stared at Naruto in shock.

"Sasuke isn't all that bad you know," Sakura chimed as they began walking again towards the parking lot.

"He's a pig," Naruto snorted and Sakura's mouth fell open in shock, everyone around the school loved Sasuke. In actuality, Sasuke was a decent person with good grades and a good home. Sometimes he acted a little spoiled, but overall he was one of the better boys that attended Konoha Academy.

"You don't even know him," Sakura scolded, but Naruto only chortled at her words. He knew plenty of guys like Sasuke, spoiled rich kids who thought they could walk on water. They were all the same. "He's actually really nice when you get to know him."

"That's the thing right there," Naruto pointed out and Sakura furrowed her brows in confusion. "Why should I have to get to know him for him to be nice?" Naruto questioned and Sakura looked down at the sidewalk for a few moments.

"Your one to talk!" Sakura snapped and Naruto smirked, placing his hands behind his head. His black t-shirt lifted slightly revealing an excellent V cut that Sakura never would have expected to be there. "You didn't tell me your name for nearly a week," Sakura grumbled and the blond teen beside her chuckled.

"I was never mean to you," Naruto pointed out.

"You were that one night," Sakura muttered.

"You're boyfriend wants you to stay away from me," Naruto explained with a shrug. "Rather than get to know you and like you, I figured it's easier to just keep you at arms length. Besides I'm still betting my mother and I will be gone in a few months."

"I told you before my boyfriend has no who I am friends with," Sakura huffed when they got to a little red car. She opened up the back seat door and reached in to grab some clear tubs with cookies inside of them. "I'm a friendly person, he knows that so..." Sakura trailed off and shrugged her shoulders, passing the tubs off.

"He's just afraid he'll lose you to me, not that I can blame him. I'm the definition of amazing," Naruto joked and Sakura sputtered as she grabbed the last two tubs. She bumped the door closed with her hip and they started walking back towards the school.

"Now you're just being cocky, thinking I would ever go for you," Sakura commented with an eye roll.

"Well there must be a reason you've aimlessly tried to be my friend," Naruto said with a smile and Sakura shook her head. There was no denying that Naruto was a handsome guy, but so was Sasuke and she was very happy with him. She had been crushing on Sasuke since they were six years old and now she was finally with him. It would be stupid of her to ignore all those feelings, but Naruto did have a way of getting under her skin.

"I'm just a friendly person and you seemed so lonely," Sakura explained to him, staring straight ahead not even daring to glance at him. She could feel his eyes on her though, watching her with pure curiosity.

"Lonely?" Naruto repeated in questioned after a few moments of silence passed between them. "I don't need you pity."

"What is it with you?" Sakura snapped, finally having enough of his cold shoulder. "Why does me trying to be nice have to be 'pity', can't someone just be nice to be nice? Seriously, you need to relax a little bit," Sakura lectured and Naruto stifled a laugh.

"I guess you have me there," he told her and Sakura looked at him, her scowl softening a bit. "It's been a long time since I've had friends. I just don't know how to be around them anymore." He shrugged his shoulders and stopped walking when they were just outside of the cafeteria.

"The only way to know how to be around friends again is to let your guard down," Sakura replied and looked into his blue eyes that were surrounded by thick black lashes. His eyes were just so beautiful, she could get lost in them. When she realized they were both staring at each other, she cleared her throat and looked away. "So tell me, why do you and your mom move so much?" Sakura asked with a tilt of her head.

"I already told you, she likes fresh starts," Naruto explained as he went over to the door and pulled it open, balancing the tubs in his hands to keep them from falling. He used his foot to swing the door open wider and pulled it wider, gesturing for Sakura to go in.

She walked in and he followed after her. "That's vague," she said to him and he stared at her before letting out a soft sigh.

"It's a complicated story," Naruto answered and Sakura raised a well groomed brow.

"I would like to hear it," she stated as they got to an empty booth and put the tubs of cookies down. "We have all day to get to know each other." She was smiling at him and wiggled her brows. The blond teen stared at her blankly for a moment before rolling his eyes. He knew for a fact she would be probing him all day, but he was probably going to have to disappoint her. There were somethings that he would rather she not know about him.

"I'll make you a deal," Naruto said and turned to face her. Sakura looked back at him with a smirk on her face and her hands on her hips. "After this, we can go somewhere and I will tell you twenty things about myself, no strings attached."

"I sense a but coming," Sakura chuckled.

"But you can't ask me anything about myself until we're done here," Naruto replied and Sakura bit her lip.

"I can do that," she replied, holding her hand out to accept his deal. Naruto looked at her hand for a moment and nodded, taking her small hand into his. Sakura smiled when his warm hand engulfed hers and they shook on it. "You better tell me stuff that's worthwhile, not like your name and how old you are."

"What if I'm a vampire and I'm like eight hundred years old?" Naruto asked with a smirk and Sakura started at him in disbelief.

"Are-"

Naruto put a finger on her lips. "You were just about to ask a question, don't forget our deal. I saved you think time, but I won't a second," Naruto told her with a wink and Sakura glared at him in a more playful than menacing manner.

"Fair enough, but I don't believe you're a vampire," Sakura stated, sticking her tongue out.

"You're right I'm a leprechaun," Naruto joked and Sakura laughed, shaking her head as she started setting-up her booth.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Got this up sooner than expected, hope you enjoyed. Leave your feedback, it's always appreciated!


	7. Twenty Facts

**Twenty Facts**

The bake sale wasn't as bad as Naruto thought it would be, but it wasn't great either. He had met some of the girl's from the dance team due to Sakura. They were a bit indifferent around him, but maybe that was because he kept them all at arms length. He didn't really try to be friends with them, he didn't want to. In the end, he knew his mother and him would move again. Running his fingers through his hair, Naruto sighed softly and finished stacking up the folding tables in the storage room.

"Don't worry about it, Sasuke," Sakura said from out in the hallway. She was on her phone talking to her boyfriend, who never showed up to come see her. Naruto walked out and shut the door, glancing over at Sakura. She was pacing in a small circle and twirling her hair around her finger. "We can hang out tomorrow, go hang out with your brother, it's fine, really." She was smiling as she spoke and Naruto rolled his eyes as he leaned against the wall, watching her every move.

After another couple of minutes, Sakura said her goodbyes and hung up her phone. She slipped it into her back pocket and looked over to Naruto. He smiled weakly and she apologized for taking so long. Waving off the matter, Naruto pushed off the wall and approached her. She had successfully gone the entire day without asking him a single question and as he promised, he would share twenty facts with her.

"So are you ready?" Naruto asked her, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. Sakura smiled and nodded, saying she had been ready since the bake sale started. The blond boy chuckled a bit and nodded for her to follow him. "We gotta stop by my place first," he informed her as they walked out the back door of the cafeteria.

"What for?" Sakura asked as she followed him.

"I need to get something," he replied and continued walking not willing to share any more information other than that. Sakura didn't press the matter though, she just walked along side him with her hands behind her back. She snuck a few glances at him, studying his face, hair, and eyes. He was something else, she had to admit. There was an air of mystery about him, he was handsome, and charming, and most of all he seemed troubled. She really wanted to sink her teeth into him and find out all about him.

She wondered why she cared to know so much about him. It might have been the fact he wasn't willing to share anything, he was a closed book. In the past couple of weeks, Naruto hadn't shared much about himself other than he's moved around a lot, his name, and that he needed to work to help his mother with the bills. She wondered what he was hiding behind that handsome face of his. Scolding herself, Sakura turned away from Naruto, she had a boyfriend, she probably shouldn't care so much.

"So why don't you tell me something," Sakura said, not liking the silence going on as they walked towards the parking lot. "Do you want me to drive us?" she questioned, unhooking her car keys from her belt loop.

"It would be a lot faster if you could," Naruto pointed out with a soft smile. "Fun fact, number one, I'm an awesome cook."

"In your own mind or are you really an awesome cook?" Sakura asked just before they got to her car. She unlocked her door and just as she was about to open her door, Naruto did it for her. Looking at him, Sakura smiled in appreciation and climbed into her car. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Naruto said with a nod as he shut the door and walked around to the passenger side. He opened the door and slipped inside easily. When he shut the door, he buckled up and looked around the interior of the car. It was clean, simple, and light in color. She had a CD holder on the floor and he picked it up. "And I am actually an awesome cook," Naruto assured her as he unzipped the CD holder and began flipping through her collection.

"What do you cook?" Sakura asked as she turned on the car and backed out of the parking space.

"You actually have an okay taste in music," Naruto said with a chuckle. "Nsync? Really?"

"Hey they were awesome," Sakura shot at him and he laughed, pulling the CD from the sleeve. She raised a brow at him as he put the CD into the player and turned the volume up a few notches.

"I actually like them too," Naruto said with a shrug and Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. They were stopped at a red light and when a song came on, she started bouncing her shoulders to the song. The blond next to her watched with curiosity and started laughing, when she started singing at the top of her lungs. "Maybe you should leave the singing to them?" Naruto tried and Sakura giggled, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry, they just get me sometimes," Sakura laughed with a small flush on her cheeks.

"_Don't wanna be a fool for you, just another player in your game for two, you may hate me but it ain't no lie, baby, bye, bye, bye..._" Naruto sang along and Sakura looked at him completely amused and pleasantly surprised. He actually had a nice voice and hearing him sing a song from a ninety's boy bond was just really cool in her opinion. "That's fun fact number two, I like to sing. Take a left on this street, we're going to the duplexes on Fox Springs Road."

"You walk from there everyday?" Sakura asked.

"Beats the bus," he replied with a shrug as he continued looking through her plethora of CD's. "Shaggy? Let me guess the only reason you have this CD is for 'It Wasn't Me', am I right?"

"You aren't wrong," Sakura giggled.

"_Honey came in and she caught me red-handed creeping with the girl next door, picture this we were both butt naked, banging on the bathroom floor, how could I forget that I had given her an extra key?_" Naruto sang as he closed up Sakura's CD holder and placed it in the back seat. Sakura laughed as Naruto continued to hum the song as they drove down the road. "Hey is that Smash Mouth?" Naruto asked when he looked in the back seat at a CD case.

"Yeah, I was watching Shrek and well I just had to listen to them," Sakura explained with a laugh.

"I approve," Naruto said, giving her a thumbs up. "Maybe you are worthy of being my friend," he stated with a wink and Sakura scoffed.

"We're here," Sakura said as she pulled into the neighborhood of duplexes. Naruto directed her through the streets, two rights, a left, and three doors down they were parked in front of Naruto's home. Cutting off the ignition, Sakura looked at the house through the window and nodded. She had never been into this neighborhood before, but it was nicer than she expected it to be. "I've never been here before."

"Sorry, we're poor and this is all we can afford," Naruto replied as he unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed out of the car. Sakura sat there for a moment confused, she hadn't intended for that statement to be insulting. When she climbed out, Naruto was already at the door and walking inside. He left it open and she assumed that was his way of inviting her in.

Biting her lip, Sakura walked up the pathway and up the three steps to the small stoop. She peaked into the house and carefully stepped in. "Naruto?" she called as she stood in the threshold.

"Just come in," Naruto called from the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?" he inquired and Sakura blinked a few times, shutting the door assuming they were going to be staying for a bit.

"Uh, sure," she replied and looked around the house.

It was small, but cozy. The walls were plain and didn't have much decorating them, but she could see from the few scattered boxes that they hadn't finished unpacking. Her eyes scanned the large black letters scribbled on the boxes. Some were labeled kitchen, some clothes, others were labeled photos. The boxes labeled photos was closest to her and left wide open. Her curiosity got the better of her, so she walked over and took a peak inside.

Carefully reaching into the box, Sakura pulled out a framed photo and chuckled softly. It was a photo of Naruto probably eight years of age. Considering the background was of the ocean, Sakura assumed he was at the beach. He was wearing a white t-shirt with bright orange swim trunks and had the biggest smile on his face.

"Nosy, aren't you?" Naruto inquired as he walked towards her with a soda can in his hand. She apologized and put the frame down, taking the soda from him. "It's alright, we haven't had much time to unpack."

"I could help, if you'd like," Sakura offered with a smile.

"You're boyfriend would throw a fit, he's probably going to kill me as it is," Naruto pointed out before sipping on his soda.

"Don't mind him," Sakura said with a wave of her hand, but Naruto had to mind him. He unfortunately worked with him and had a lunch and class with the guy. "We're just friends hanging out."

"I'm sure he would prefer it if your friend didn't have a penis," Naruto chuckled as he sat down on his couch. Sakura opened up her soda and took a drink. "What would he do if he knew you were in my room?" Naruto asked curiously.

"We aren't in your room though," Sakura stated as she looked around. They were clearly in the living room that was cramped with boxes and over-sized furniture.

"Nope, I sleep right here," Naruto said, patting the couch he was sitting on. Sakura's eyes widened and she looked around, nodding her head slowly. "Anyways, I came for this." Naruto crawled over the couch and leaned over the arm to grab his guitar.

"Well, let's hear something," Sakura said as she sat down on the coffee table across from him. He pursed his lips and snapped his finger we an idea came into his head. She laughed lightly as he situated himself and strummed a couple chords.

He picked up the beat a bit and smiled at Sakura. "_Feeling my way through the darkness, guided by a beating heart, I can't tell where the journey will end, but I know where it starts,_" Naruto sang and Sakura smiled as he continued to strum his guitar and swayed to the beat. "_They tell me I'm too young to understand, they say I'm caught up in a dream. Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes, well that's fine by me, so wake me up when it's all over..._"

Sakura watched Naruto closely as his fingers moved over the chords. His eyes were closed as he sang and for some reason, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. She thought it sounded beautiful, his rendition was filled with such meaning and emotion. It was raw and she could just feel it and see it coming off of him.

He looked at her after he sang the first half of the song and stopped. Sakura clapped her hands together, telling him she was thoroughly impressed with his guitar playing and singing. Naruto nodded his head and thanked her, laying his guitar on the couch beside him.

"How long have you been playing?" Sakura asked.

"Since I was seven years old, my dad and godfather loved the guitar," Naruto explained as he glanced at his guitar. "So let's see, you know that I am a leprechaun, that I'm an awesome cook, and that I sing and play guitar, leaving you with seventeen more things."

"The leprechaun thing isn't even true!" Sakura snapped as she threw her hands up in the air, earning a laugh in response from Naruto. "So technically, I still get to know eighteen things." She waved her finger at him and Naruto rolled his eyes, giving in and agreeing.

"Alright, fun fact number three," Naruto paused and tapped his chin, wondering what he should tell her about himself. "Oh, I know, my favorite movie is Brokeback Mountain."

Sakura sputtered, thinking it was a joke, but Naruto kept a perfectly straight face. "Wait, you're serious?"

Naruto nodded his head and Sakura blinked a few times, she never saw that one coming. "I think it's one of the greatest love stories of all time," he explained and Sakura tilted her head, smiling in amazement. She actually liked the movie too, but she hadn't met a guy who ever said it was their favorite movie, let alone that they liked the movie. "I also thought the acting was awesome and it's different." He shrugged his shoulders and Sakura nodded, completely agreeing with him. "I also blubbered like a baby at the end," he chimed and Sakura giggled.

"You're just full of surprises aren't you?" she asked, bringing her soda can up to her lips.

"Wait until you get into my ooey gooey center," Naruto replied with a wink. "Fun fact, number four: my favorite animal is a fox."

"A fox?" Sakura asked curiously.

"When I was younger, my dad and I found a baby fox in our backyard. It's mother had gotten run over by a car, so we took care of it. He was the coolest," Naruto said with a smile as he closed his eyes, remembering the little fur ball that he used to play with when he was a kid. "Unfortunately, we couldn't keep him forever, so we gave him to a wildlife refuge when we moved into our apartment."

"Do you still go see him?" Sakura asked, finding his story to be very interesting and sweet. She had always heard of people saving wild animals, but she never met someone who had before.

"No, because he's half way across the country," Naruto said glumly and Sakura frowned, she could see that the fox obviously meant a great deal to the blond. "Fun fact, number five: in the fifth grade I was spelling bee champion." He leaned over to the box that had all the frame photos in it. Sakura watched him dig around and smiled when he plucked out frame. Handing it over to Sakura, she looked at it and started laughing when she saw Naruto holding a trophy the size of him.

"So you're smart," Sakura commented.

"Didn't you know? I'm the next Albert Einstein," Naruto joked and Sakura started giggling. He laughed too and looked at her closely, this was the first time he'd shared so much with someone. Her laugh was infectious and sweet, he loved the sound of it. "You have a nice laugh," Naruto told her and Sakura looked at him, smiling warmly at him.

"I think I sound like a hyena," Sakura muttered shyly, placing the frame back into the box. Naruto scrunched up his nose and shook his head, assuring her that she did not sound like a hyena. "Well thank you, that's very nice of you."

"Come on, let's go to the park down the street," Naruto said, getting up from the couch. He picked up his acoustic guitar and slipped it into a soft case. Slinging the strap onto one shoulder, Naruto looked at Sakura. She stood up and Naruto gestured for her to go ahead. Smiling, she walked over to the door and pulled it open, stepping onto the porch. "Fun fact, number six: I like to walk, it helps me clear my head."

"Why do you not want to make friends?" Sakura asked him as they walked across the small lawn. Naruto let out a breath and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's just easier than getting attached to people only to have to lose them," Naruto replied and Sakura furrowed her brows. She had a hard time believing that that was all there was to his reasons. Something in her gut told her that Naruto wasn't telling her everything, she could see it in his blue eyes.

"Is that really the reason?" Sakura pressed as they walked side by side.

"Yeah," Naruto answered with a nod. "Truthfully, it wasn't the moving around all the time that made me like this." Sakura looked at him and could see sadness taking over. She started to wonder if she had pushed a little too far.

"You don't have to tell me now," Sakura informed him, placing her hand on his upper arm. They stopped walking and Naruto looked at her hand, causing her to pull it away. He smiled weakly and met her gaze, those gorgeous green eyes enrapturing him. "If it's too personal, you don't have to tell me." She smiled at him and started walking again.

Naruto followed and fell into step with her. "Thank you for understanding," Naruto smiled and Sakura nodded her head. She knew that sharing personal matters with someone who was pretty much a stranger wasn't that easy. "What else could I tell you?" Naruto wondered as they continued walking until the park came into view.

* * *

"Fun fact, nineteen: I only eat brown M&M's," Naruto said as he and Sakura were sitting atop the monkey bars at the playground just a block down from his house. The pinkette furrowed her brows and gave him a quizzical stare, which caused him to laugh. "I'm assuming you would like a reason?" he inquired based on her stare.

"Yeah, I gotta hear this," Sakura replied with a laugh and Naruto nodded his head.

"Long story short, I figure that since chocolate is already brown, there is less artificial coloring," Naruto explained and glanced over at Sakura, who was staring with intrigued eyes. "which is healthier for you."

"Wow," Sakura laughed and shook her head. Never had she heard such a strange explanation, but maybe it wasn't strange. Maybe it made a little sense. "As weird as it sounds, I actually think I get what you are saying," Sakura agreed, looking at him.

"It makes sense," Naruto stated with a nod. "Now, I have been sitting here for the past hour, spilling my guts out to you. Why don't you share something?" he questioned with a smile, looking at her expectantly.

"I don't even know," Sakura said with a laugh, leaning back on the palm of her hands. She kicked her legs through the space of the bars and popped her lips. "I'm pretty good at ping-pong." She shrugged her shoulders and Naruto let his head fall between her shoulders.

"That's not what I meant," Naruto muttered with an eye roll.

"Because eating only brown M&M's says a lot about you?" she tried.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto exclaimed and Sakura raised a brow at him in disbelief. "It means I'm conscientious of my health."

The pinkette just about fell off the monkey bars and slapped a hand to her face. Both of them began laughing though, so hard that Sakura couldn't breath. She hadn't had this much fun in a long time even with all her girlfriends. Naruto just had this aura about him that was carefree and charming, she was so drawn to him.

"Can you do anything cool?" Naruto questioned after her regained his composure.

"Playing ping-pong ain't cool enough for you, buddy?" Sakura asked with a playful glare. Naruto held his hands up in defense, saying that was all fine and dandy, but also a little on the boring side. The pinkette snorted at his opinion and crossed her arms over her chest, pouting in a playful way.

"Can you do a standing tuck?" Naruto inquired and Sakura looked at him with wide eyes. "What's that look for?" he asked with a raised brow.

"How do you know what a standing tuck is?" Sakura asked him, slightly impressed.

"Cause I'm not stupid, we covered this earlier. I'm the next Albert Einstein," Naruto explained with a wink and Sakura shook her head, Naruto really was a character once he opened up. She bet that if he would just let others see this side to him, he would be one of the most popular boys in school. He was talented, funny, charming, and good-looking. "So can you do one or not?" he asked with a smirk.

Sakura slipped through the bars and landed on the sandy ground. Naruto looked at her and followed in suit, leaving his guitar laying across the bars. He looked at Sakura as she walked away from the jungle gym and stretched her arms and legs. She let out a breath and looked at him, winking before lifting her arms up. Swing her arms down and tucking her chest into her knees, Sakura flipped herself in midair. When her feet landed on the ground, she raised her hands above her head again and smiled like a true performer.

Naruto clapped for her and smiled brightly. "Very nice."

"Thank you, thank you," Sakura said as she bowed dramatically as if she was in front of a crowd of thousands of people. "Can you do one?" she asked him with a raised brow.

"Sure if I want to break my neck," Naruto replied with a chuckle and Sakura smiled, stifling a laugh. "This has been great, I haven't...connected with someone like this in a long time." He looked into her eyes and Sakura actually felt her heart skip a beat, the way he was looking at her was so sincere and genuine.

"That's what friend's are for, having a good time," Sakura said, clapping her hands together. She wanted to break down those walls that he built around himself. There was something about him, something different from the other kids at her school. Sakura wasn't sure why she cared so much, but she knew it would be trouble if she didn't keep it together. She had a boyfriend, she couldn't forget that. "To be honest, I haven't laughed this much in a long time."

"Fun fact, twenty: I'm glad I met you," Naruto said, looking deeply into Sakura's sparkling green eyes. "You changed my mind about letting people in."

Sakura clasped her hands together and smiled, happy to hear she helped him. She knew they still had a long way to go, but she felt a lot closer now than ever before. Sighing softly, Sakura took a step closer to Naruto and bit her lip.

"Would it be weird if I gave you a hug?" Sakura asked.

Naruto thought about it for a second, but opened up his arms. She practically tackled him, wrapping her arms around him tightly and buried her face into his chest. Sakura wasn't sure why she did it that way, but when she felt his arms wrap around her, she felt like it was right.

They pulled away after a few moments and Sakura blushed, brushing her pink hair behind her ear. Naruto smiled down at her and cleared his throat, he hadn't hugged someone like that in a while, not even his own mother. There was something about Sakura, something that rattled him. Maybe it was because he couldn't have her...and he wanted her...

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**Author's Note: **I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter, thank you all so much for the feedback. I truly appreciate it!


	8. Give Me Love

**Give Me Love**

Ever since Sakura and Naruto had hung out that Saturday afternoon, they had formed an interesting friendship. They weren't very close, but they did have little bits every now and again. She found herself sneaking glances at him all throughout chemistry class. Even though she was dating the poster child Sasuke Uchiha, the more she talked with Naruto the more she preferred him. To Sakura, Naruto was wild, free, and unpredictable. Those things drew her in so close, but at the same time she knew it was wrong. Yet it felt right.

"Are you even listening to me?" Ino asked, snapping her manicured fingers in front of Sakura's face.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Sakura asked, turning her attention back to Ino.

The blonde girl gave Sakura worried look, she could see the pinkette was off in some other world. She just wasn't all there and Ino found that a bit odd, Sakura was normally so put together and aware. Ever since the bake sale on Saturday, Ino had noticed that Sakura was always staring at Naruto whenever he would pass by. It kind of worried her, because Sakura didn't even look at Sasuke the same anymore.

"What's up with you, all week you've been acting...strange," Ino said, unscrewing the cap of her bottled water. "And I think it's got something to do with the new kid." She nodded in the direction of Naruto, who had just walked out of the library and was heading towards the art building.

Sakura blinked a few times before shaking her her. "Not at all."

"Lair!" Ino snorted with an eye roll. "You know you have a boyfriend, right?"

"Seriously, Ino!" Sakura hissed, quickly becoming annoyed with the conversation they were having. The blond chuckled lightly and shrugged her shoulders, saying she was only stating what she was seeing. "I'm gonna go." Gathering up her trash, Sakura left, leaving Ino all alone at their table.

"Where is Sakura going?" Tenten asked as she walked over with a tray of food containing a water bottle and a slice of pizza. She sat down at the table and began to eat her food. "She's been acting weird, right?"

"That's what I said and she got up and left," Ino replied with a shrug. "I think she's into that new kid."

"He's cute," Tenten smirked.

"But she's with Sasuke, she should be happy," Ino pointed out, but Tenten scrunched up her nose.

"Sasuke's cute and all, but let's remember he is a bit on the spoiled side. He's a pretty package, but while I like him, he is a bit...self-righteous." Tenten took a bite out of her pizza and chewed as Ino stared at her. "Shouldn't you be happy though? You've been pining for Sasuke since like sixth grade."

"Well sure, but I want the best for them both," Ino explained as she took a bite out of her apple. "We don't even know this kid."

"Well, maybe we should get to know him," Tenten suggested. "He doesn't seem like a bad kid."

The two girls heard the doors opened and turned to see Sasuke and Kiba walking up. They were talking about something and laughing. When the two got over to the table, Sasuke looked around and turned his attention to Ino. She already knew he was going to ask where Sakura was. After all the pinkette had made herself very scarce the past week.

"Where's Sakura?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know," Ino lied.

"She went to go see that new kid didn't she?" Sasuke guessed with a sigh, shaking his head. "I don't get what she sees in him." He shrugged his shoulders and looked to his three friends. None of them really knew what to say though, they all always believed that Sakura was deeply in love with Sasuke. This Naruto kid though, really got under her skin.

"He doesn't seem that bad, besides no one even talks to him besides Sakura. And we all know how she is." Tenten took another bite out of her pizza and chewed. She figured Sasuke was just jealous because Sakura was waiting on his every hand and foot.

"Well he isn't exactly friendly," Sasuke snorted, resting his elbows on the table.

"Neither are you," Tenten shot back, earning a stony glare from the Uchiha. "See, look at that glare." She yanked out a small compact mirror from her bag, showing him his reflection. Sasuke rolled his eyes and waved the mirror away from his face.

* * *

"Shouldn't you be with your friends?" Naruto asked when he heard footsteps coming up behind him. He was sitting on the stairwell outside of the art building with a notebook in his lap. He had been writing song lyrics, but quickly closed it when Sakura sat down beside him. "You're boyfriend doesn't like me."

"Sure he does," Sakura said with a wave of her hand.

"That prick, yeah right," Naruto grumbled with an eye roll. "He likes me about as far as he can throw me." He stuffed his notebook into his backpack and glanced at Sakura. She smiled weakly and patted his shoulders, assuring him Sasuke would come around. Naruto only scoffed, Sasuke didn't seem to want to come around anywhere. Not that Naruto truly cared, he didn't want to be friends with a person who thought he was better than everyone.

"Have you tried to talk to him?" Sakura asked, batting her lashes at him.

"Sakura you do realize I'm a threat to him, right?" Naruto inquired with a raised brow. "You talking to me, a reasonably attractive fellow, is not exactly his idea of a good friend. I mean if I looked like a troll that should live under a bridge, he probably wouldn't care."

"You think mighty highly of yourself, don't you?" Sakura asked with a chuckle.

"There must be a reason you keep talking to me," Naruto retorted with a shrug. The pinkette beside him playfully hit his arm and rolled her eyes. He chuckled softly and leaned back on the next step up. "Why do you keep talking to me? And don't be sprouting that because everyone needs a friend crap." He waved his finger at her and Sakura sighed heavily.

"Well that is one of the reasons, but I also think you are a good person." She smiled at him.

"You are a very strange lady," Naruto commented with a snort. "What makes you say I'm a good person?"

"Cause you wouldn't have gone through with that bake sale if you weren't," Sakura replied with a shrug. Naruto stared at her for a moment and blinked. "Also you wouldn't have let me come to your home, you are honest, and don't beat around the bush."

"I think that makes me more of a dick," Naruto said.

"Do you ever take compliments?" Sakura asked skeptically with a shake of her head. "Sometimes it's nice to get told things that are true."

"Not always," Naruto said softly, his eyes distant. Sometimes he wished he didn't know the truth to a lot of things. The truth was very painful sometimes, hard and painful. He knew people said lies hurt just as bad, but he didn't think so. It was better to think the best of something or someone sometimes, even if it was false. "There are things that I have been told that I wish were never told to me or I wish they were lies." He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Like what?" Sakura asked, hoping she wasn't overstepping her boundaries.

"Things about my parents," Naruto mumbled.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sakura questioned with a soft smile on her face. "Friends listen to friends."

Naruto turned his attention to Sakura. He sighed softly and debated if he wanted to share some of the darker sides to him. Licking his lips, Naruto shook his head. The pinkette looked away, understanding that he just wasn't ready yet. She couldn't really blame him, they'd still hardly knew each other. Biting her inner cheek, Sakura looked at Naruto and they locked eyes.

"You're the first friend I've had in a while," Naruto paused for a moment, "thank you." After he said those words the bell rang to alert students it was time for class and lunch was over. Naruto looked up and saw all the students sluggishly preparing to head back to their respective classes. He got up and slung his backpack onto his shoulder.

He held his hand and Sakura looked at it for a second before taking hold of it. "You're welcome." She smiled as he pulled her onto her feet.

"Better get to class, see you later," Naruto said as he started walking down the stairs.

"Really?" she called out.

Naruto stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned around to look at her. She was standing there with her hands behind her back, smiling happily. Naruto blinked a few times, wondering what she was up to. "Well, yeah I guess." He shrugged his shoulders and was about to walk off again.

"After school today, wanna get some milkshakes from the Konoha Grill?" she asked him.

"It's my day off," Naruto said.

"All the more reason, you have no excuses," she giggled.

"Did you not hear what I said about your boyfriend?" Naruto asked with a raised brow. "He's working today, if he sees us there together...he'll kill me." He started walking again and groaned when Sakura ran up to his side.

"Well it's my goal to make you two friends, so that me and you can be friends," Sakura explained to Naruto, who scowled and shook his head. "Please."

"No," Naruto replied curtly with a single shake of his head.

"Why not?" Sakura whined and Naruto was starting to loose his patience.

"Because that will make things more complicated," Naruto grumbled as he continued stalking towards the history building. He hoped Sakura would just give up, but obviously she wasn't going to.

"What do you mean?" Sakura inquired and Naruto huffed.

"Just take my word for it, okay?" he asked her. "Now I have to get to class, see you tomorrow. In chemistry." He smiled weakly and sped up, hoping she wouldn't follow him. When he got to the door, he glanced over his shoulder and sighed. Sakura was heading back in the other direction, looking a bit disappointed.

He couldn't become friends with Sasuke. If they became friends while he was falling for Sakura it would make him look like even more of a prick. In Naruto's mind it was just better if Sasuke stuck to hating him. He pulled the door of the history building open and walked inside the large hallway.

"Naruto!" Ino called out and he looked over at her. She was by her locker and quickly shut it. "Are you and Sakura like hooking up?" the blonde asked, completely serious and stern.

"If I said no would you believe me?" Naruto inquired with a smirk before continuing on down the hallway.

"She's happy with Sasuke," Ino said and Naruto stopped. He turned around and looked at the girl. She was just trying to be a good friend, he understood that. "Don't ruin it."

"I didn't ask for Sakura to be my friend and come hang out with me at lunch, she didn't that all by herself," Naruto clarified with a shrug. "If she is really happy with Sasuke, she will be faithful to him."

Ino was silent and looked down at the ground. Naruto smiled weakly and continued towards his class, hoping not to be stopped anymore.

"Do you think she's happy?" Ino asked, coming up right behind him.

"No, I don't," Naruto said truthfully. "Otherwise she wouldn't be so intent on hanging out with me at lunch when Sasuke has the same lunch."

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**Author Note: **Sorry for the wait everyone, I've been so busy and haven't had time to write. Also I apologize this chapter is so short, but it's better than no update, right? Thanks for all the feedback, I'll try to update as soon as I can.


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